Struggling Sound Tigers fall into division cellar

In his 17th professional season, Sound Tigers captain Mark Wotton was named captain of the Eastern Conference for the All-Star Game which will take place on Monday in Hershey.

Joining the long-time captain in the game is rookie Rhett Rakhshani who leads Bridgeport in points and assists in his first professional season.

For his career, Wotton, a 37-year-old defenseman, has played in 869 AHL games. His 341 games with Bridgeport is a franchise record.

Rakhshani rejoined the Sound Tigers this week after his second recall with the Islanders was marred by a concussion. In his first full professional season he leads the team in points and assists.

The Sound Tigers earned their first win of 2011 on Saturday when five straight goals turned a 3-1 deficit in Worcester into a 6-3 win. But following a 1-2 week, Bridgeport dropped to 1-7-2-1 during the calendar year.

At the All-Star break, the Sound Tigers (19-21-3-3) have fallen into last place in the Atlantic Division with 44 points. The Sound Tigers trail four teams in the playoff race and sit seven points behind Binghamton, the fifth place team in the East Division, for final playoff spot.

Leaders: Rakhshani is second among AHL rookies with 33 points and has a team-high 23 assists. Micheal Haley leads the team in goals with 12 and penalty minutes with 132.

Much Martin: Coming into the season, Joel Martin had not played in the AHL since 2007 and was the No. 4 goalie on the Sound Tigers' depth chart. Over the past two weeks, Martin has started three of the last five games allowing three goals in each with a .920 save percentage. He earned his first AHL win since April 5, 2007 on Saturday.

Struggling Koskinen: Bridgeport has not been kind to Mikko Koskinen. After missing more than five months last season due to hip surgery, the 22-year-old former second round pick is in the midst of a terrible season. Koskinen has lost seven straight starts allowing four or more goals in five of the games. For the season he has a record of 5-14 with a 3.67 goals against average and an .882 save percentage.

Joensuu rolling: In four games since returning to Bridgeport on Jan. 18, Jesse Joensuu has scored three goals and assisted on two others. He has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 22 games with the Sound Tigers.

Hot DiBo: A prolific scorer in juniors, goals have not come easy for Justin DiBenedetto in his first two professional seasons. However, the 22-year-old forward has been on fire lately scoring four goals and tallying three assists in the last three games.

Sticking around: Defenseman Dustin Friesen signed a PTO Sunday after his first 25-game tryout contract expired.

Friesen is the fourth Sound Tigers player this season to re-sign after reaching the 25-game maximum.

In name only?: Defenseman Dylan Reese and goalie Kevin Poulin were returned to Bridgeport Thursday in what is most likely an All-Star break paper transaction.

Both players will likely head back to Long Island without playing for Bridgeport, saving the Islanders a few bucks against the salary cap.

Injuries and scratches: Defenseman Wes O'Neill has missed the last three games and forward Jeremy Yablonski has missed 29 of 30. Defenseman Dustin Kohn returned to the lineup Saturday after missing three games while NHL veteran Andy Hilbert (upper body) has still not played this season.